I was fortunate enough to eat here after my driver for the day made a reservation at this tiny,…read moreunassuming, classical French restaurant. It may not look like much, but I was pleasantly surprised by the traditional menu. We were seated right away, handed a wine menu, with glass, half bottle and full bottle offerings of Bordeaux's from chateaus in the area. Next we were served before lunch snacks of tiny tarts. The waiter came around and explained the menu to us. We went with pork ravioli and the rabbit. While the pork was good, the rabbit was perhaps the best I have ever had in my life. The sauces were beautiful, lots of fresh herbs throughout the meal made it extremely satisfying, fulfilling and the perfect French lunch in the Médoc

Just looking through some old notes and see that I never posted our last meal here back in…read moreSeptember 2020 But more amazing, why is that there is no post since 2017? Has Lion d'Or really dropped out of sight? what a shame if so. My boys learned both what to eat when we went and also how to behave when at a proper restaurant. I have been going there since the mid '80s when given the name by the people at Giscours...only to find them all sitting there when we arrived! Chez Barbier was the place to go...yes he was rude and in those days it was fairly rough and ready, but you had to get to know him and his ways...and he, yours. I have eaten here well over 100 times I guess The food was always wonderful and the various maître d's were always worth talking to I know he retired but apparently, lives in the village, and still turns up from time to time. He sold to his sous chef I think who tried to maintain both the menu and standards We went 2 years ago and will return this year in September...yes it was a little different, plus we sat outside at the back (in the shade) but the menu is similar and the food was good if not quite as good...we also had a glass of Paveil de Luze and post-meal, drove there immediately, had a mini tour and bought a couple of cases...in fact we just ordered more during Covid to be delivered...it is very nice indeed! And will go there too in September...Good excuse to try the Lion d'Or again if any were needed!!!

We arrived early for our reservation. But if you make an effort to speak some French and be polite,…read moreas we did, they will be totally helpful, so we got seated 15 minutes early at a prime table at the beach's edge. No complaints there. We chose this spot because it did come up again and again as an institution in Arcachon worth a visit. After ordering two glasses of champagne to get started (it was a really nice environment so we felt like living it up a bit), we settled in for the Formule menu. Fish with a orzo and ham was an unlikely combination but the saltiness of the ham was a perfect foil to the mild fish. Our other dishes were equally good, flavors all on point, dessert of a creme brulee perfectly burnt in the moment. With our best efforts at speaking French, our waiter warmed up to us quickly and made friendly chitchat, asking where we were from, how long we were in France for, etc. Charming and warm, this was a quintessential french dining experience as it should have been. No rush, no overbearing waiters, no clearing the tables too early. Food on point and portions just right. The institution lived up to its name, at least for us. I would give it a second chance, definitely.

Great location right on the water- this restaurant actually has two sides- one that serves more…read morecasual fare which is what this review is for and the other side that is more of a brasserie. I stopped in with the rest of the "people watchers" around noon on a Saturday. While the place was busy- it wasn't packed so there were plenty of tables outside to watch the people go by. There are daily specials like steak and frites, a daily fish special, etc, and then plenty of sandwiches and salads. They even have sushi if that's your thing. I ordered a coffee and a salad Nicoise. The salad was huge and it came with some warm bread. They were out of a small bottle of sparking water so the server brought me a large one. While the coffee was good - in typical European style that tiny cup cost 3.40 euros and I needed three to satisfy my caffeine craving. At the end of the day- my coffee ended up costing me as much as my salad! But the service was quite good even though my limited French was tested. But between some good pantomiming on my part, and the few words my server and I could figure out, I ended up with exactly what I wanted to eat. If you drive- know that this area gets very congested. There is a parking lot by the carousel that will cost you 1 euro for a couple of hours but if that lot is full, you are pretty much out of luck. This place seems like the place where many of the locals go. In fact- the reason I found it was a woman who worked at my hotel suggested it for a sandwich and a glass of wine. But local or not- you'll be happy you stopped in and sat a bit to watch the people of Arcachon wander by.

Excellent fresh seafood. Oceanfront terrace. Oysters! Overall very good. Recommended. 5 stars for…read morethis area

Highly recommended a) the front view is just fantastic…read more Especially at high tide b) very friendly people there. Service is close to perfection c) wine list is great for white wines from all over the world ( I did not remember wether they had Californian chardonnay) d) seafood products are top quality. e) cooking is just perfect. That's what make the difference. The sea bass we got yesterday was cooked to perfection. d) if you are still hungry very good desserts as well So, I cannot refrain from highly recommending this place. Prices are affordable for the quality. Thanks to all the team there for the good dinner we had.

Very nice restaurant, friendly service. Top dinner. Fresh…read morefood, strait from the sea. Wine selection very good and price ok. Restaurant is clean and I think recently renovated interior. Parking available just across the street, restricted space (5).

When everyone in town kept pointing me back to the restaurant at the hotel I was staying at . . .I…read morewondered if it could really be as good as they all said it was? Or was it my limited grasp of the French language that had me thinking it was more than it was? Well let me tell you- all of the recommendations were spot on! This place was not only beautiful to look at and with service that went out of their way to take care of this non French speaking girl- but the food was amazing as well! I went early as I didn't have a reservation. Given it was a warm night- the outdoor covered patio was open which is quite lovely facing a wooded area. There is also a bar area and a lower level to this restaurant. Given I was a party of one, after speaking to the manager (owner?) I decided the best place for me to enjoy my dinner and not take of one of the few tables was to enjoy my meal at the bar. The menu is presented on a huge board with all the fresh items that had been gotten at the market that day. So know that what I had may not be available on the night you go but whatever you have I am sure it will be wonderful as from my vantage point I was able to watch the food coming out of the kitchen and it all looked and smelled wonderful. I started with some raw oysters (these are on every menu in town as they are a local specialty) you can also have them cooked. I also managed to pick a wonderful red wine from a list of French wines that I was not familiar with- but the bartender/server was great and offered me up one of his favorites. For my main course I had a veal loin, perfectly grilled which was served with mashed potatoes and a mix of vegetables. All beautifully presented and all fresh and delightful! And as I sat there and sipped my wine- my server asked if I wanted to see a dessert menu. Now the right answer should have been an emphatic "no" given all the food I had already had . . .but I knew given how good the dinner had been- that they must have something as wonderfully decadent to satisfy my sweet tooth. Back came out another board with a long listing of wonderful sounding desserts. And as I grabbed my phone to start looking up what the words meant, my server came to my rescue one more time and suggested a local Bordeaux specialty cake . . .something called a canele. Well, when traveling- I always want to try something local so I said "Sure"!. This dessert was so impossibly good that I was in food heaven. These little cakes were chocolate delights and they served them profiterole style which means that there was some type of ice cream served between the two cakes and then drizzled with warm chocolate sauce. I sat there licking my fork and had such a look of supreme bliss on my face that the language barrier slipped away and all I could say was "tres manifique"! And imagine my surprise after a few glasses of wine- an impossibly good meal and that wonderful dessert that my total bill was only 61Euro! A wonderful evening in a wonderful restaurant in Arcachon! And a special shout out to the great staff who took such good care of me as I muddled through their language but they served me with the same care and attention that others that they obviously knew received . . .and that is what separates a good restaurant from a great one! My only wish? That I didn't have to fly to another country to visit this restaurant again!!!

Yay I'm a fan! to read my full review and more check my blog: http://www.l-homme.us/…read more I was born and raised in the region and I live in NYC now. I know the region and give you some good addresses on my blog! enjoy Arcachon:)

After our wine tasting at St. Emilion, my husband and I decided to make the trek here. About an…read morehour and a half later, we arrived, found parking and got seated within two minutes. Originally, I was a bit worried I'd need to whip out Google translate for the menu (but my husband says he couldve translated some of the menu because he is a chef who studied French culinary arts) but all worry was moot due to the English menu (oh thank goodness). That aside, we decided with tap water, the assortment of starters which consisted of cured meats, smoked salmon, ground up tuna, shrimp and duck with lots of servings of bread - I swear, with each dish and empty bucket, our waitress just refilled it with four more pieces of warm bread. My favorite as always was definitely the chorizo! My husband also got oysters and I certainly am not a fan but he made me try - which, honestly, he put too much lemon juice and I still am not a fan but according to him, it was good and fresh (I guess as long as it's fresh, you can't go wrong with it). Next came our entree which consisted of duck breast with his duck liver and my pork. The foie gras was super fatty and melted in mouth and the duck was cooked to perfection. My pork neck was pretty good and I loved the sauce that went along with it. I was happy to get some salad too because on vacation, I feel like vegetables become a side character that scarcely appears. I was definitely full after dinner and one dessert was good for the both of us. And being fans of chocolate, we got the chocolate dome which wasn't too sweet. Overall, our experience here was terrific! Would recommend if you're in the area - plus it's close to a beach so I think it'll be nice in the afternoon.

Great staff - very friendly and the food is awesome! Intimate seating and dog friendly.read more

Fantastic dinner - super nice staff and great food. I had a steak with escargot (really - they were…read moredelicious!) - other customers were ordering a fois gras entree that came inside a bell jar filled with woodsmoke, which looked and smelled amazing. The winelist was mostly Bordeaux reds and white - our server recommended a great Medoc for 35 euros... will definitely go back!